50 years ago, a cartoon industry named 'Joylingers' was erected in Birmingham as one of the best cartoon franchises in the world. Featuring a mascot known as Joylings, they bring a lot of fun and games for children through television shows, merchandise, and tour views at the founding pillars.
The Joylings are a wonder for the children, being filled not only with a smile but also a unique set of skills. Each bears a unique personality and trait that can do beyond a human's touch. A magical, but more realistic for a children's show. It raises a question about its script, actors and settings, but the CEO said it was all for the wonder that matters.
But 44 years later, the popularity of Joylingers went from a star to a meteor when the industry was surrounded by a mysterious topic of missing children and adults. Some had said that during the tour views, many people disappeared in that industry and had never been seen again. The mounting disappearances rise only during a tour view, with most of them being children.
Cases increase, and even nearly a hundred thousand vanishes. But nobody dared to suspect the industry until a mysterious man looking for his missing daughter snuck inside. She was seen there, but then she disappeared and was never seen again. Eventually, the man discovered the horror behind the smiling Joylings.
The Joylings are remnants of those who went missing and turned into husks of a pretending smiler for the TV show. Fueled by a chemical known as Joyus, it keeps the Joyling alive and working for the role given by the man in charge for decades named Sebastian Chrome. Abused and mutilated, the Joylings are but an innocent soul who has no purpose but the role they were given.
After facing numerous threats from resisting corrupted Joylings known as Frowlings, a twisted side of the happy ones, the man eventually uncovers the secret and puts an end to the industry once and for all. With an explosion that puts the concrete to rubble, Joylingers Corporation ceases once and for all.
The CEO was dead, and all the scientists working with him had also vanished alongside. But the Joylings and Frowlings remain, surviving all the odds under the vault alongside the man and his daughter. All that left was now hope to raise alert about the factory's crime.
News about the dark secret of the Joyling immediately arises, and people immediately act upon it. A vast vault containing the remaining Joylings was found and extracted safely. The town was shocked at the sight of the talking Joylings, with the families of lost children reunited again with that voice calling their names.
A new organization was built to deal with this. Known as the Funtakers Institute, this organization focuses on assessing the Joylings with therapy, exercise and training before sending them back into the real world as a citizen or their lost family. It was hoped that these Joylings could benefit the world with their biologies and unique traits as well.
But returning them wasn't way easier than to be thought, as the world wasn't ready to dwell along with the Joylings and their inhumane. For a world that's cruel and not all rainbow, Joylings must live to face their own reality and perhaps uncover a slight piece of their past.
This story will delve into each personal life of different Joylings, with their ups and downs as they decide whether their lives are worth living or not.
Welcome to 'The Troubled Toys in a Wild World' series.
Note: Not connected to Shape of Darkness world. Still in the same Universe, though.